I came across this whilst looking for a new zombie book to read, after having a bit of a break and reading some sci-fi. It was on my Kindle Owners Library list to borrow for free. Yeah, I know that isn’t always a good recommendation…I had a quick look at the blurb and thought I’d give it a try – mainly because it said it was set in the UK. I’ve read all three books in the series now:
- Surviving the Evacuation: London
- Survivng the Evacuation: Wasteland
- Surviving the Evacuation: Family
OK, I’ve read all 3 books so it can’t have been too bad? Yeah, actually that’s about right.
The first book starts quite slow really and is based on the diary of Bill. As the outbreak, which started in New York, escalates and Britain is quarranined, Bill breaks his leg and is confined to his home. At first he has regular contact with the outside world via his friend Jennifer who is an MP. Then the evacuation starts and he is alone. Then the power goes out and the streets start to fill with zombies. He realises that he must leave as soons as his cast can come off.
I hope I’m not spoiling too much by saying that he does leave his house, otherwise there wouldn’t really be books2 and 3….
It’s a series of books that is really easy to get along with as it’s based around a fairly small cast. Bill’s quite troubled (I won’t say why) but he’s quite a likeable character. Kim’s pretty ballsy and it’s not that unusual to have children in a zombie book, but these books include a baby too. Quite cool when you consider how much noise a baby makes!
This review is for all three books and I have to say the writing is strong throughout and I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next. There’s a few twists in there but theywould be complete spoilers if I mention any of them. I did find one of the twists a little bit hard to swallow, but went with it and the extra character fitted well.
I quite like the way it is lead by the journal, which means it’smainly seen from one person’s point of view. I liked the way the story unfolded and they way it dealt with zombie encounters. It’s not a graphic “eat ’em up” book but much more about the situation and the people. It’s also very refreshing reading a UK-based zombie book 🙂
I would deffo recommend it. Such good value too!
Quirky Zombie 